NC Division of Health Service Regulation

Office of Emergency Medical Services

Trauma Education, Registry, and Research

The North Carolina Trauma Registry (NCTR) is a cooperative effort between numerous North Carolina hospitals, including all trauma centers, and the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services (NCOEMS). The NCTR, which has been operational since 1987, collects information on injured patients for the purposes of performance improvement, outcomes measurement, resource utilization, injury prevention, and clinical research.

Research

The purpose of the NCTR is to house data that is collected on all trauma patients and to facilitate trauma system development. Data extracted from the NCTR is useful to improve the quality of care of trauma patients in North Carolina. NCOEMS and the State Trauma Advisory Committee (STAC) support and encourage researchers to use the NCTR to obtain data for research with the ultimate goal of improving trauma care in N.C. as well as nationally.

Prior to obtaining data from the NCTR and conducting any research activities, researchers must first follow the appropriate steps in order to obtain approval from NCOEMS as well as the STAC. The following documents may be used to obtain information about and access to data for research purposes:

N.C. Trauma Registry Data Access Procedure (PDF, 62 KB)
The purpose of this document is to define the procedures by which parties can gain access to the data in the NCTR and to outline a process to assure that any publication derived from the NCTR is a high quality report such that the data is accurately presented, not prejudicial to any person, nor in violation to general statute or the confidentiality of any person or hospital.

Routine Data Request (PDF, 24 KB)
A routine data request form is to be filled out when straight facts necessitating no interpretation of data, for benchmarking or policy-making purposes, are required from the NCTR.

Scientific Data Request (PDF, 39 KB)
A scientific data request form is to be completed when a request for data requiring or leading to an interpretation or extensive analysis for the testing of hypotheses or from which conclusions will be drawn.

Education

Trauma Continuing Education Courses (PDF, 75 KB)
The purpose of this document is to assist trauma program managers in assigning trauma continuing education credit in a standardized manner across the state of North Carolina. This tool is not inclusive of all courses for trauma continuing education. Assigning of trauma hours is at the discretion of the trauma program manager.

Registry Resources

The following resources relate to consistency, accuracy, and validation of data across the state of North Carolina:

Chart Selection for State and ACS/State Site Visits (PDF, 44 KB)
This is a document which outlines general information and criteria for the process of chart selection for the state and American College of Surgeons (ACS)/State site visits process was created to provide a timeline and improve efficiency for the state as well as the facilities.

The North Carolina Trauma Registry (NCTR) Data Dictionary (PDF, 1.31 MB)
This document was created using the data dictionary published by the National Trauma Registry of the American College of Surgeons (NTRACS), with modifications specific to the North Carolina Trauma Registry. It provides a brief summary of every data point used in North Carolina, and notes where there are custom options standard throughout the State.